Employers taking that Closer Look

When preparing for the job search and interview most people experience the same thoughts: what do I want to do, how am I going to find the job, I need to write my resume, what am I going to wear to the interview, and so on. These are common thoughts that run through your mind during the job search process. But there are several other things you need to be aware of. When an employer begins looking at your resume or during the interview they are picking apart every single detail and will make a judgment call on what they see or hear.

There are two areas you can prepare yourself that employers may judge you on without you even realizing it. The first is your email address. The majority of people use their Yahoo!, Google, or Hotmail accounts as their primary email provider and there is nothing wrong with this but what does your address look like? When you created your email you were trying to think of a unique address you would remember and was perhaps cute and witty at the same time. For example, thebigcheese@mail.com or partyprincess@mail.com. While these make a statement about you, it is not the statement that needs to be portrayed to possible employers. You do not have to get rid of your email just get a new one or use your school email. An address that features your name is always the best choice.

Another area possible employers are going to silently judge you is your voicemail message. This too needs to be professional sounding. No screaming, crude jokes, or ‘fake’ answers. Keep it simple and conservative. State your name and a brief message asking for them to leave a message including their name and phone number. Another point relating to cell phones is the dial tones. It is now quite popular for people to have songs for the caller to listen to instead of a dial/ringing tone. Please reconsider. While this is not necessarily a bad thing the song you choose may not be the best. If the song can be considered derogatory, crude, and/or include curse words do not use. Remember a possible employer may listen to this and get the wrong impression about you. Use the regular dial tones while your in the job hunt.

The most common rule for everything in the job hunt is “Be Conservative.” If in doubt do not do it. Do you have any other suggestions for job hunters? Things that are seemingly simple but glaringly wrong?

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